The present invention relates to tools and, in particular, to a builder""s square which allows quick cutting, especially cross-cutting, of sheet materials such as plywood, Sheetrock, plastic laminates and the like.
The square of the present invention can be used by either professional carpenters or homeowners with average skills in woodworking. For ease of reference, the user will generally be referred to herein as a carpenter.
In order to get a straight cut across a sheet of material, e.g. the typical 4xe2x80x2 width of plywood and Sheetrock, a carpenter will typically mark the sheet of material (hereinafter referred to as plywood) on each side and then either draw a line between the two marks or clamp a piece of wood an appropriate distance from the line so that a circular saw or other cutting device can be used. This procedure typically requires that the carpenter mark the desired distance on one side of the plywood, walk around the sheet of plywood so that a mark can be made on the other side and then walk back to make the cut. As can be appreciated, this takes a considerable amount of time to complete and, since xe2x80x9ctime is money,xe2x80x9d this method has substantial economic drawbacks.
The applicant herein has now developed a square which overcomes the drawbacks of prior art methods of cutting long or wide sheets of plywood. Applicant""s tool is a special form of square that can be used from only one side of the sheet of plywood to be cut, thus eliminating the need to walk around the plywood sheet. The square of the present invention can be used either horizontally, e.g. on a sheet of plywood placed on saw horses, or it can be used vertically, e.g. to cut off a sheet of plywood that has already been mounted to wall studs.
Initially, a single mark is made on the plywood at the appropriate distance for the cut and then the square is put into place. According to the present invention, the square has a short leg and a long leg with the short leg of the square extending below the bottom of the plywood and aligned with the edge of the plywood to be cut. The long leg of the square has a clamping member at the end thereof distal from the short leg of the square. The clamp is operated by a handle connected to a wire which connects to the clamping member at the distal end of the long leg of the square. Springs are preferably included at each end of the wire to ensure that there is constant bias on the clamping member. The carpenter can position the square so that the blade of the cutting tool, e.g. a circular saw, is aligned with the spot where the cut is intended to be made. Either or both of the legs of the square can include measurement markings similar to those used on known builder""s squares.